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electrifier, Master Electrician

Category: Electrical

Satisfied Customers: 1633

Experience: Electrical contractor and electrical inspector for over 24 years with phone and networking expertise

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100 amp service panel(s)

Resolved Question:

I have one exterior 200 amp service panel that feeds my mobile home. In this panel I have a 100 amp breaker that feeds a 100 amp service panel in a utility building....I am building a new utility building and wish to put a 100 service panel in this building also...Can I just put a 100 amp breaker in the older utility building service panel to feed a 100 amp panel in the new utility building? if I'm not mistaking, I will need to run 2-2-4-6 between the 100 amp breaker and the new 100 amp service panel...I should also install a 5/8" ground rod with #6 bare copper....

the wire type is not an issue or even the question I am looking for.....I need to know if it is ok fot me to put a 100 amp breaker in a 100 amp service panel or put the 100 amp breaker in the 200 amp service panel....this 100 amp breaker is what I will use to feed my new utility building....if it is ok to put this 100 amp breaker in either the 100 amp service panel or the 200 amp service panel, then I need to make sure of the wire size whick I think should be 2 2 4 6 direct burial cable

Do not put anything new in the mobile home panel. If your 200 amp outside service has room for a 100 amp breaker that is the best place to put it. Otherwise you can run it from the sub panel in the current building. Aluminum wire for 100 amps is #2 and copper is #4 for residential usage. While the type of wire you will run is not what you are asking there are code issues that could come up at some point. I give advice on all aspects of your project to help you get the best installation you can get. Rather than a direct burial cable I suggest PVC conduit and THHN copper wire or XHHW aluminum wire. For copper wire you will need 2 #4 conductors and 2 #6 conductors. This will give you a good installation and cause you less possible problems down the road. You will need ground rods at the new building connected with #6 copper, either bare or insulated. Stranded wire is fine for the grounding. Install 2 ground rods at least 6' apart, 8' apart gives the best grounding at this building. Do NOT bond the neutral and the ground in this sub panel under any circumstances. It is not allowed.

thanks....that is what I needed to know....I will come off the exterior 200 amp panel and run my feeder for the new utility building....There is no room in the mobile home panel anyway so that is not evven an option...I mispoke about the size and type of cable I had planned on using....Obviously you are a fan of using conduit....I know not using conduit and direct burial cable is more expensive...I am going with 2,2,2,4 quadplex...The new building is 16'x30' so I will probably put a ground rod at the 4 corners and and then one in the middle on each side of the 30' length....I am looking for conformation that what I have said is ok....If you see an issue with this, then I appreciate anything that needs to be corrected

That sounds like aluminum wire, not copper. Direct burial aluminum is a bad deal as any slight pinhole will destroy the wire and cause electrical loss into the ground. I've replaced many feeders for this same reason and I refuse to use direct burial aluminum for this reason. It is legal and safe but down the road you will wish you didn't use it. Ground rods will require a continuous #6 to them or more than one from the ground rods to the panel. No splicing of grounding electrode conductors is allowed.I've given you exact details of what to do and what is a better choice than what you have in mind. I haven't beat around the bush at all. I'm always very careful to give the exact information needed for your exact project. Sometimes it is necessary to obtain additional information in order to do this.

The thing is I am not or was not looking for exact info for a project...There is no way you can give me exact info unless I gave you every detail about the project such as HVAC/ power tools, etc., etc., etc. that I would be running and how many I what be running at the same time, etc., etc., etc... All I wanted to know in my original question was which service panel would it be best to put the new 100 amp breaker in...I could care less about your grounding grid around a wood frame building or that you want me to run THHN through conduit. Don't you think it would be even better to use all copper triplex with a bare ground, in conduit, buried in concrete and the concete painted read which I will be glad to do if you give me my $30 back

Since you could care less about an installation that is code compliant I have opted out and will no longer address your question. I do hope nobody is killed from your wiring and you do not have any loss of property from it.

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